The parent company of Bloomington's Pantagraph Newspaper lost $9.7 million in the most recent quarter. Lee Enterprises reports that compares to a $1.8 million profit in the quarter ending in June of last year. And even though revenue of $163 million fell 2.3%, CEO Mary Junck said during a conference call that revenue trends are favorable:
"We have been really very very successful with growing national digital revenue and we are up substantially in that category which more than offset the declines in the print side."
Junck points out much of the growth in on-line subscriptions is due to the increasing popularity of notepads, smartphones, and other portable technology. Lee has so far rolled out its new full access subscription model in 14 of its markets.
The company expects most of the income from the digital changeover to come next year. As many media companies are doing, Lee is struggling to transition from plummeting print revenue and circulation to a new digital world. The company says the on line sector of the business is booming with 23 million unique on-line visitors in June. Digital advertising revenue is also up 13% for the quarter and makes up nearly 18% of the total business. Print ad money fell 6% for the quarter, continuing its long term slide.